Porsche cars, high gates and celebrity neighbours - life on one of Greater Manchester's richest streets

Light is fading on Hale Road. It’s school pickup time, and the ‘most-attractive’ street in Greater Manchester is clogged with exhaust fumes.

There’s a temporary light restricting traffic to one-way-only. But this is no ordinary bottleneck.

Rush hour along this road means you are treated to a parade of luxury cars: Range Rovers, Mercedes, BMWs and Jaguars, at this time with parents (mostly mums) at the wheel.

READ MORE: Greater Manchester’s 'most attractive' street where luxury pads sell for £2m

There’s the occasional Porsche purring past too. Anything older than a 2023 number plate is a rare sight.

When online estate agents SellHouseFast compiled a list of 28 of the most-desirable locations across the UK and asked 1,000 people to pick their favourite, Hale Road came 24th, with 5% of the vote. Homes on the road now sell for an average of £905,438, according to Rightmove.

While people may argue there are more attractive roads out there (in fact, the two local estate agents the Manchester Evening News spoke to were surprised at the findings; “there are much better roads”), there is no denying that this is a desirable, and expensive, place to live.

Proof of that, if you were looking for some, would be Mizu Bathrooms, a bathrooms and interiors shop on Hale Road. It’s owned by Deby Alison Thomas, a friendly and gregarious forty-something who says the area hasn’t changed much in the 20 years she’s been there.

Stepping inside her shop, you are greeted by a glittering smorgasbord of white marble, rose gold, pale wood and soft white lighting illuminating the fixtures, dotted with orchids in pots and accompanied by the heavy scent of ‘rose-cashmere’.

It’s a candle from Deby’s own brand, Rose Gold Candles. For £49, the candle,